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"Riyadh, September 11, 2024, SPA – The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) inaugurated yesterday the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures with the support of the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission (LPTC).
The program aims to encourage research and partnerships in translating cultures and cultural texts and building bridges between civilizations that create diverse cultural dialogues.
During his speech at the launching ceremony, the LPTC's CEO, Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan, said that the idea of inaugurating the UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures came within the framework of the remarkable interest of the Ministry of Culture, represented by the Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan.
Dr. Mohammed Alwan added that the inauguration of the UNESCO chair embodies a major aspect of the cultural aspirations of the Saudi Vision 2030, and boosts international cooperation in the field of research and development
He concluded that the UNESCO chair will generate scientific contributions in the field of cultural translation, and it will be a leading platform for exchanging experiences and knowledge between researchers worldwide.
The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures meets the growing need for specialized research in the humanities and social sciences, comprehensive education, and cultural diversity and encourages partnerships that gather the experience of representatives of academic sectors to enhance scientific research, in addition to providing scholarships, organizing seminars and enriching current academic theses to develop the concept of Arab culture and cultural diversity.
--SPA
06:00 Local Time 03:00 GMT
0011" #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2169478
"By: El-Hussein A.Y. Aly Brill, 2023. 209 pp. $129.03. The Qur’an has primarily reached the anglophone West through translations by Indian Muslims in the first half of the twentieth century. Aly’s engaging book fascinatingly reviews their achievements, the wider social and political context that shaped them, and their enduring influence to this day. He contends that these translations need to be understood as products of their context, and especially their attempt to accommodate Islam with modernity. At a time when Middle East Muslim authorities discouraged translations of the Qur’an, conditions in India favored translations. The East India Company Act of 1813 lifted the ban on Christian missions, which brought English-language materials with them. This challenge alerted Indian Muslims to the need also to engage in apologetics in English. Further, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Raj opened the civil service to Indians with a proficiency in English. This led to the rise of a modern English-speaking Muslim intellectual class, many of whom, like Yusuf Ali, had studied in Britain. They were acutely conscious of Islam’s weakened condition and the challenge that modernity presented to the Qur’an. Aly focuses on four such challenges: unscientific elements (such as jinn), the doctrine of jihad, Muslim supremacism, and the status of women. Most interestingly, Aly discusses in detail the choices of translation to answer these challenges. Translators presented the Qur’an as consistent with science; as a religion of peace, insisting that jihad means “struggle” and that military jihad is only defensive; as universal, for all nations, softening verses pointing to Muslim superiority; and as respectful of women, downplaying the ill-treatment of women (most famously, Yusuf Ali added the word “lightly” to Sura 4:34, the wife beating verse). Aly clearly agrees with those Indian translators, to the point that his partisanship sometimes shines through, as when he calls Sura 4:34 “ambiguous” even though the Arabic is very clear: it just says “hit her.” Qur’an Translation as a Modern Phenomenon shows how profoundly the pioneering work of Indian translators has underpinned and empowered Islamic da‘wa (mission) in the West. The many Western converts to Islam, won over by a message of tolerance and universal peace, are testimony to the Indian translators’ remarkable success, despite the many divergences of their translations from the pre-modern Islamic understanding. A theologian, human rights activist and Anglican pastor, Rev. Mark Durie has published on linguistics, Christian-Muslim relations, the Qur’an, the Islamic Sharia and religious freedom. He holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Australian National University and a Th.D. from the Australian College of Theology. Durie, who has addressed the Middle East Forum, has held visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, MIT, UCLA and Stanford, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1992, and was awarded an Australian Centennial Medal in 2001. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre of the Melbourne School of Theology, and Founding Director of the Institute for Spiritual Awareness. Follow Mark Durie on Twitter @markdurie"
"By: Mykhaylo Yakubovych Open Book Publishers. 228 pp. $42.95 ($26.95, paper). Yakubovych, a Ukrainian Islamic studies scholar, has written a fascinating and masterful survey of the extraordinary achievements of Saudi Arabia’s Qur’an publishers. Most notably, the King Fahd Glorious Qur’an Printing Complex, established by royal decree in 1982, has printed hundreds of millions of Qur’ans and commentaries in book and audio format, a majority in Arabic but also translations in multiple language. Until the mid-twentieth century, many Muslim scholars still opposed translating the Qur’an. For one, the word qur’an means “recitation” and for the pious reciting the Arabic text out-loud, as—it is believed—it was delivered to Muhammad remains the only true (and untranslatable) experience. For another, the meaning of the Qur’an is mediated by a centuries-old traditions of commentary and a translation of the Qur’an needs to be approved by qualified scholars. (Saudi scholars resolved the translatability issue were by casting the translations as of approved “meanings” of the Qur’an, rather than the Qur’an itself.) Yakubovych explains how Saudi clerics, relying on Ibn Taymiya, argued for the value of translations as a tool of missionary work. While Qur’ans published in the kingdom have some theological diversity, the Ibn Taymiya’s influence, known as Salafist, dominates and endures. Qur’an publishing has served as “a powerful missionary tool” to reach both Muslims and non-Muslims. Only recently have Saudi scholars engaged with such modern issues as Islam and science, violence in the name of Islam, relations with non-Muslims, religious freedom, and women’s rights. As Yakubovych reports, this encounter with modernity has led to adjustments of translations, such as softening or removing negative references to Jews and Christians in the first Sura (Sura 1:7), and adjusting the translation of the wife-beating verse (Sura 4:34). It is not clear, however, whether these should be seen as genuinely “liberal interpretations,” as Yakubovych posits, or a pragmatic effort to enhance the Qur’anic message. The final paragraph of In The Kingdom and the Qur’an sums up the import of this undertaking: “Whether the works themselves are accepted or criticised, popularised or neglected, Qur’an translations published in Saudi Arabia or with Saudi support abroad now undoubtedly constitute the biggest contribution to the contemporary Muslim understanding of the sacred text of Islam at a global level.” Melbourne School of Theology" #metaglossia_mundus
"Established in 2018, the US National Book Awards’ newest category, Translated Literature, this year drew 141 submissions. In Feature Articles by Porter AndersonSeptember 11, 2024 By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson See also:
US 2024 National Book Award Longlists: Young People’s Books
US 2024 Distinguished Contribution Medalist: Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher Paul Coates Wins the US 2024 Literarian Award The Second of Five Categories’ 2024 Longlists With its rate of submissions in this category running a bit lower than might have been expected, the United States’ National Book Foundation‘s second-released 2024 longlist is for Translated Literature. This is the most important of the five categories for our international professional readership at Publishing Perspectives. In 2023, this category drew 141 entries from publishers, the lowest number since the 2020 competition and the second-lowest since the 2018 establishment of the Translated Literature award. Last year’s competition drew 154 submissions, by comparison to this year’s 141. The 2022 competition drew 146. Indeed the largest year for submissions so far in Translated Literature was 2021, when publishers made 164 entries. Even in the opening year, 2018 was slightly higher than this year’s input, at 142. Only one year’s number of entries has been lower than this year’s, and that was the pandemic year of 2020, when there were just 130 submissions. While the differences in these numbers are not large, the longtime struggle of translated literature among American consumers is a perennially painful and frequently embarrassing point for many in the States’ book community and industry. Perhaps there’s some work to do on the part of the foundation in encouraging more submissions in this still-young category. As an added incentive, perhaps, translated literature’s recognition generally can be expected to highlight the valuable work of more independent publishers than might be the case in other traditional categories. As is logical, the large publishing houses gather much of the visibility elsewhere in the nominations, after all, something you can see, for example, in the longlist for Young People’s Literature this year. The Translated Literature longlistees in this 75th iteration of the National Book Awards were published originally in Arabic, Danish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Swedish. The jurors for Translated Literature this year are Aron Aji, Jennifer Croft, Jhumpa Lahiri (chair), Gary Lovely, and Julia Sanches. The 2024 Translated Literature Longlist Once again, the 10 books longlisted here all appear to have their translators clearly credited on their covers. We mention this in reflection of the effort by many in the business to persuade publishers to provide proper credit to translators on book covers. Author Title Original Language Translator Publisher / Imprint Nasser Abu Srour The Tale of a Wall: Reflections on the Meaning of Hope and Freedom Arabic Luke Leafgren Other Press Bothayna Al-Ess The Book Censor’s Library Arabic Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain Restless Books Linnea Axelsson Ædnan Swedish Saskia Vogel Penguin Random House / Knopf Solvej Balle On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) Dutch Barbara J. Haveland New Directions Publishing Layla Martínez Woodworm Spanish Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott Two Lines Press Fiston Mwanza Mujila The Villain’s Dance French Roland Glasser Deep Vellum Publishing / Deep Vellum Fernanda Trias Pink Slime Spanish Heather Cleary Simon & Schuster / Scribner Fernanda Vallejo The Abyss Spanish Yvette Siegert New Directions Publishing Yáng Shuāng-z ǐ Taiwan Travelogue Mandarin Lin King Graywolf Press Samar Yazbek Where the Wind Calls Home Arabic Lerei Price World Editions As always, the jury’s decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and board of directors and deliberations are strictly confidential. See also:
US National Book Award: Opening to Non-US Citizens
The US National Book Foundation Issues US$350,000 in Hawthornden Grants More from Publishing Perspectives on the National Book Awards in the United States is here and more on the huge field of international book awards and prizes is here. More from us on translation and translators is here, more on international publishing rights is here, and more on the United States’ market is here. About the Author Porter Anderson Facebook Twitter Porter Anderson has been named International Trade Press Journalist of the Year in London Book Fair's International Excellence Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of Publishing Perspectives. He formerly was Associate Editor for The FutureBook at London's The Bookseller. Anderson was for more than a decade a senior producer and anchor with CNN.com, CNN International, and CNN USA. As an arts critic (Fellow, National Critics Institute), he was with The Village Voice, the Dallas Times Herald, and the Tampa Tribune, now the Tampa Bay Times. He co-founded The Hot Sheet, a newsletter for authors, which now is owned and operated by Jane Friedman." #metaglossia_mundus: https://publishingperspectives.com/2024/09/us-national-book-award-2024-longlists-translation/
"In Representing and Interpreting Abstraction Today (Magütt Publishing, 2024), a volume of essays edited by Alessandro Ferraro, a range of authors—including artist Peter Halley, critic Francesca Gavin, and Artforum.com senior editor Travis Jeppesen—examine the past, present, and future of abstract art. On abstraction and its enduring legacies September 10, 2024 3:15 pm Xiyao Wang, River, River, Could You Tell Me the Story of My Hometown No.1, 2022, acrylic, oil stick on canvas, 129 7/8 × 267 3/4''. Photo: Claire Dorn. In Representing and Interpreting Abstraction Today (Magütt Publishing, 2024), a volume of essays edited by Alessandro Ferraro, a range of authors—including artist Peter Halley, critic Francesca Gavin, and Artforum.com senior editor Travis Jeppesen—examine the past, present, and future of abstract art. In this exclusive excerpt, art historian Isabel Wünsche frames the emergence of two emerging voices in contemporary abstraction, Tarini Ahuja and Xiyao Wang, against the Eurocentric approach that previously predominated in historical discourse surrounding nonrepresentational painting. ABSTRACTION AS A FORMAL APPROACH in the visual arts has provoked, perplexed, and inspired us now for more than one hundred years, and for almost as long, art historians have been offering interpretations and perspectives on its development and application. Historically, the emergence of abstract art has been linked to Romanticism and Impressionism as well as Jugendstil and Art Nouveau design. Theorists as well as practitioners have invested considerable time and effort in devising complex strategies intended to ratify its existence as a legitimate art form, in general, and, in particular, as one endowed with expressive powers and capable of evoking alternative levels of reality and consciousness. In recent years, however, the search for general principles has been more or less abandoned. Instead, the emphasis has been on the historical contexts within which abstract art is produced. In the twenty-first century, the engagement with new digital media and the application of digital visualization practices has sparked new investigations into the forms and functions of abstraction and the interpretation of abstract patterns. A Universal Visual World Language: Abstract Art in the West By the 1930s, abstraction as an artistic idiom had already acquired several influential promoters in the United States. Alfred H. Barr, founding director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was drawn to abstraction “for its insistence on the absolute,” its purity of style, originality of invention, and the influence of the artist within an international matrix. In the catalogue for the 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art, Barr charted the gradual evolution towards abstraction. He traced the development of modernist art chronologically, nationally, and stylistically from the 1890s to the present, indicating an inevitable teleological progression towards abstraction and distinguishing between geometrical and non-geometrical abstract art, thereby playing out the opposition between intellect and intuition, technology and nature, the geometric and the organic. With his systematic approach, which relieved formal analysis of any interpretative responsibility, Barr strongly influenced art history writing and art criticism well into the 1960s, not only paving the way for Clement Greenberg’s formalist theory of modern art, but also for the ideological role of abstract art in the cultural battles of the Cold War. Hilla Rebay, another early American proponent of abstract art and founding director of the Museum of Non-Objective Art in New York, celebrated abstraction in her 1938 essay The Value of Non-Objectivity: The non-objective picture stands by itself as an entirely free creation, conceived out of the intuitive enjoyment of space. It is the visual essence of rhythmic balance in form, design, and color. […] The non-objective picture is far superior to all others in its influential potentiality, educational power, and spiritual value to humanity. Through the efforts of critics such as Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg, art collectors and educators, among them Katherine S. Dreier and Hilla Rebay, and art historians, including Alfred H. Barr in the United States, Michel Tapié in France, and Werner Haftmann in Germany, abstract art began to gain mainstream acceptance in the 1950s. By the end of the decade, Arnold Gehlen saw the expression of true freedom only in abstract painting, which, according to Werner Haftmann, in his 1954 book Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert (Painting of the Twentieth Century), had taken on a “global character” and established itself as universal art form. This notion of abstract art as universal in nature found one of its most pronounced expressions in the 1958 publication Abstrakte Kunst – Eine Weltsprache (Abstract Art – A World Language) by Georg Poensgen and Leopold Zahn, who compared it to “that great revolution called the Renaissance:” The development of modern art towards the abstract and universal, eliminating the external and the individual, has made possible, through a common effort and common vision, the realization of a collective style that, rising above the person and nation, in a very definite and real way, the highest, deepest, and most comprehensive claims of beauty. Poensgen and Zahn celebrated the “new forms and form systems, these new color tones and signs that belong to the global signature of our century” and highlighted the development of abstraction in painting and sculpture from its precursors in the late work of William Turner, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism to Tachisme, Art Informel, and Abstract Expressionism. Their introduction is followed by brief biographies of 269 artists (including ten female artists), from Max Ackermann to Ossip Zadkine, supplemented by a chronological and geographical overview. A critical examination of the artists, movements, and their geographical distribution, however, is revealing; as it would appear that abstract art is in fact an exclusively western phenomenon. The presumed role of abstract art as a universal visual language was founded upon various anthropological, psychological, and aesthetic considerations. Barr, in his 1936 chart, had identified “Japanese prints,” “Near-Eastern art,” and “Negro sculpture” as sources of inspiration in the development towards abstraction. Willi Baumeister, in his influential book Das Unbekannte in der Kunst (The Unknown in Art, 1947), postulates a parallel between the creative processes in nature and the process of artistic creation and maintains that the abstract artist, using elements from archaic and non-western cultures, is drawing on a universal cultural heritage. The Abstract Expressionists, who held that the authenticity of a work of art lay in its directness and immediacy of expression, often turned to ancient myth and archaic cultures for inspiration (as well as Jungian psychology). By allowing, even encouraging, the artist to draw inspiration from the diverse repertoire of other cultures and past epochs, from cave painting to calligraphy, abstractionists insisted upon a universal art-historical context. This was at a time when such thinking was governed by the unwavering belief that the world was moving inevitably forward with respect to the advancement of democracy, scientific-technical progress, and secularization, and abstract painting was the appropriate artistic expression of these modern realities. Writers such as Barr, Greenberg, Haftmann, Poensgen, and Zahn appropriated abstract art to posit the artistic and cultural superiority of the western world. By emphasizing the universal character of abstraction as a form of artistic expression, they implied that abstraction would soon become the dominant art form throughout the world, as it was an expression of modernity and progress. After the Second World War, abstract art proved crucial to narratives positing postwar American modernism as the heir to earlier Twentieth-century European modernism, thus serving to ratify American artistic and cultural hegemony. Towards Individual Expression: Abstraction Outside the Western World Abstraction, however, not only shaped European and American modernism in the Twentieth Century, it also left its mark in Latin America, the Arab world, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Thus, its narrative as a purely western phenomenon requires a closer examination. A largely Eurocentric approach results in a distorted value system in which some works are more authentic than others. Such thinking, with respect to western primacy in artistic creation further enhances notions of primary vs. secondary, influencing vs. influenced, center-periphery and other “western vs. the others” dichotomies in modernist and avant-garde art. The emergence of modernist art in the West was the result of efforts to come to terms with the rapid new developments in urban, industrial, and secular life during the Nineteenth Century. Artistic production in countries such as China and India was largely untouched by the paradigms of first one- and then multi-point perspective and the illusion of three-dimensionality that arose in the Renaissance. Instead, an awareness of the formal and expressive possibilities of the media and techniques in use had been a commonplace understanding for Chinese ink painters and Indian miniature painters over many centuries. Thus, the radicalism of the European and American avant-garde was alien to artists in the East. This becomes evident when one looks, for example, at artistic production of modernist art scenes in Bombay, India and Shanghai, China. In India, European modernism was a distinctive influence on the Progressive Artists’ Group, founded by young artists based in Bombay, among them Francis Newton Souza, Sayed Haider Raza, and Maqbool Fida Husain, in 1947, the year in which India gained independence. The members of the group rejected the colonial academic style and the nationalist art of the Bengal School and embraced instead international modernist art practices. They pursued various new styles, ranging from Expressionism to pure abstraction and the depiction of traditional Indian art elements and media. Balancing international modernism and an indigenous nationalism, the members of the group strove to create a new equation between “modern” and “Indian” in line with India’s modern, secular vision and became one of the most influential art movements in India. One of the painters associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group in Bombay and today one of the most prominent representatives of abstraction in modern Indian art is Vasudei Santu Gaitonde (1924–2001). He studied at the Sir Jamsethji Jijibhai School of Art in Bombay, where he was introduced to Indian mural painting and miniature painting as well as European modernism, including the works of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee. Gaitonde experimented widely, using various techniques, including oil painting, watercolor, and mixed media and began to create his own non-representational works in the 1950s. Building upon his engagement with Zen Buddhism and ancient calligraphy, he used a layering process to create atmospheric works, whose surfaces he enriched with spontaneous calligraphic textures. His paintings are meditations on color, form, texture in which he considered Indian aesthetic theory, maintaining that a complete artistic experience requires the viewer to be both a rasika (one who experiences intuitively) and a rasajna (one who learns analytically). Thus, he was able to create a unique identity for himself and, with his cosmopolitan worldview and approach to abstraction, he inspired young artists to experiment with this art form. In early Twentieth-century China, artists were likewise attracted by the diversity of European styles they encountered, from academic realism to expressionism. Abstraction, however, was poorly received, a situation that only gradually changed with the introduction of the gestural brushwork of the Abstract Expressionists, which among many artists resonated with the traditional language of Chinese ink painting. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Wu Guanzhong (1919–2010) was one of several artists in China desiring to move beyond the long tradition of Chinese landscape painting. He began to draw inspiration from western abstract art in order to create works that would capture the “essence” of the form. By marrying eastern tradition with western influences, he eventually found his own path to abstraction. Wu Guanzhong had studied both Chinese and western painting at Hangzhou National Academy of Art from 1936 to 1942. In 1947, he received a government scholarship to study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he took a great interest in modern French art, particularly Post-Impressionism, and also familiarized himself with the principles of aesthetic formalism. After his return to China, he introduced aspects of western art to his students at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, where he taught from 1950 to 1953 (at the time, the academy was dominated by socialist realism). His life and career were dramatically interrupted by the Chinese Cultural Revolution; only after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, he was able to return to painting and his formalist approach to art. Focusing on formal beauty in the arrangement of color and form, he strove to use eastern rhythms in conjunction with a western approach to painting, combining oil painting and ink drawing—with the goal of “nationaliz[ing] oil painting and moderniz[ing] Chinese painting,” which in his view were “two sides of the same face.” In the 1980s, artists in Shanghai searching for an individual artistic language were drawn to abstraction, which offered a means of opposition to mainstream art. Many of the Shanghai artists worked with mixed media, combining oil on canvas and ink on rice paper. Using pictorial elements such as lines, dots, and shapes, their abstract works offered multiple layers of interpretation and could be understood in either an eastern or a western historical and philosophical context. The artists greatly influenced younger artists emerging in the mid-to late 1980s who went on to form the ‘85 New Wave Movement. By the late 1980s, abstract art practices in China had become a growing search for a “purified language,” representing both the initial resistance to mainstream art and the general transformation process of the society. Between Cultural Tradition and Artistic Innovation: Contemporary Abstract Voices The cross-cultural dialogue in abstraction today is perhaps captured best in the work of non-western artists positioned between their own cultural traditions and their intensive studies of western art practices. In conclusion, I want to look at the work of two emerging voices in contemporary abstraction, Tarini Ahuja and Xiyao Wang, born and educated in India and China respectively. Each is exhibiting internationally, thus they are a part of the global art world of the 21st Century. Tarini Ahuja’s development as a painter was shaped by the work of the Progressive Artists’ Group of Mumbai, but also by the painterly approaches of western abstract artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Mitchell, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Cy Twombly. Born in New Delhi in 1990, she pursued her undergraduate studies at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore and then continued her artistic training at Goldsmith’s, University of London, where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Arts in 2013. Abstraction, she has indicated, offers her a way to capture in her paintings the ephemeral, fleeting moments of everyday life. Her approach is informed by Eastern philosophy, above all the Japanese concept of mono no aware—an awareness of the impermanence of things and the powerful emotions this notion generates with our awareness of the transient lives we lead, and the memorable moments contained in them. In her first solo exhibition at the India International Centre in New Delhi in 2015, she explored the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, a world view and aesthetic approach that centers on an acceptance of nature’s fragility, transience, and imperfection. Thus, the beauty of wabi-sabi lies in its ambiguity; it is a way to find beauty and harmony in what is simple, modest, and mysterious. In her most recent, second solo exhibition in New Delhi, she explored the musical notion of adagio, a tempo marking indicating a passage to be played slowly, leisurely, and gracefully. Adagio as a creative principle enables her to slow down the artistic process and reflect upon her approach of working with her hands, making marks that are luscious and intuitive. Ahuja’s focus is on the creative process; the act of painting is a deep exploration of the mesmeric language of abstraction. She generally begins with an elaborate outline of color schemes and compositions, which allows her to explore various scenarios and formal problems. She builds structures and simultaneously obliterates them, intuitively layering paint. In this process, color is a crucial element in her work and an ever-evolving source of inspiration. She spends days creating elaborate palettes and mapping out color tones to capture in her dreamlike polychromatic works the fleeting moments of everyday experiences. Ahuja paints with complete sense of awareness and constant reflection. She enjoys the tactile nature of painting and the paradox of an approach where impulse and control, calm and chaos, go hand in hand. Acknowledging a direct link between slowness and memory, she explores in her paintings ideas such as stillness, impermanence, and restraint, which she captures with sensuous lines and intuitive marks. Furthermore, she sees abstract painting as an alternative approach to dealing with the intense medial realities of the digital age. Abstract painting offers an alternative, a way to slow things down and invite us to reflect on the physical presence. For Xiyao Wang, abstract painting is also the most adequate and direct form of expression; it is movement captured onto large canvases, expressing a feeling of boundlessness and joie de vivre. Born into an artist’s family in Chongqing, China, in 1992, Xiyao Wang pursued dance, poetry, and the visual arts from an early age. From 2010 to 2014, she studied printmaking at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, where she received classical art training including a wide variety of technical skills as well as an introduction to Chinese and western art history. Her first encounter with western modernism was a catalogue of works by Paul Klee which she received as renumeration for one of her prints in 2013. Her subsequent encounter with Neo-Expressionism provided her with an artistic approach that would enable her to transfer her own feelings and thoughts onto the canvas. In 2014, she moved to Germany, where she continued her studies at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg under Werner Büttner, one of the protagonists of Neo-Expressionism, and Thilo Heinzmann, and also studied in performance artist Jochen Dehn’s class. A recipient of a Karl H. Ditze Foundation and DAAD PROMOS scholarship in 2018, she continued her studies in the MFA program at the State University of New York at Purchase, using her study trip to intensively engage with Abstract Expressionism, which became a major influence upon her own development as a painter. She completed her studies in painting under Anselm Reyle in Hamburg, receiving her MFA in 2020, and currently lives in Berlin. Here, too, the artist’s main concern is with the creative process: for Xiyao Wang this usually originates from a point of intense inspiration, triggered either by external impressions or by her own thoughts and feelings. The inspiration defines her choice of artistic means and leads directly to her exploration of color, line, and form. Immersing herself in the creative process on the large-scale canvas in front of her, she feels free from all constraint and lets the lines develop and weave together as if in a constant state of flow, transformation, and flight. She has described her artistic work as a nearly bodiless process, as if her soul were suspended in the air. Her works arise from the dialogue between the expressive gestures of her body as she paints, and the resulting marks generated on the large canvases. Xiyao Wang combines various techniques such as oil and acrylic painting, charcoal, graphite, and oil sticks. The artistic language of her expressive multi-colored lines, layered onto compact pastel-colored or pure white backgrounds, produces lyrical arrangements that evoke natural movement and atmospheric effects reminiscent of wide-open landscapes. The movement of her lines extends beyond the boundaries of the canvas, thus turning her paintings into meditations on weightlessness and infinity. Her profound knowledge of both eastern and western artistic traditions enables her to simultaneously draw inspiration from Taoism, but also dance, music, and the martial arts. She succeeds in marrying a Neo-Expressionist approach to painting with eastern artistic traditions. The large scale of her canvases allows her to break free but also sweeps the viewers along and invites them to unlock their own imaginative spaces, freely discover her work for themselves, and associate it with their own thoughts and feelings. For both artists, abstraction is a way to free the spirit and find their own individual artistic language. Building upon their native cultural and intellectual traditions and drawing inspiration from western art movements, focusing particularly on color schemes and the expressivity of the line, they have developed cross-cultural approaches to abstraction that speak to both western and non-western audiences. Isabel Wünsche is Professor of art and art History at Constructor University Bremen since 2001." #metaglossia_mundus
10/09/2024 par Redaction Connectionivoirienne "La Chaire UNESCO de Bioéthique, dirigée par le Professeur Lazare POAMÉ, en collaboration avec la Commission Nationale Ivoirienne pour l’UNESCO, organise le mardi 10 septembre 2024, au siège de la Chaire UNESCO de Bioéthique à l’Université Alassane Ouattara de Bouaké en Côte d’Ivoire, la cérémonie officielle de lancement du Concours de Traduction de la Recommandation de l’UNESCO sur l’Éthique de l’Intelligence Artificielle ( IA). Cet événement marquera le début de la phase 2 du projet « Semer les graines d’éthique dans l’esprit des populations », visant à vulgariser les recommandations de l’UNESCO sur l’éthique de l’IA par leur traduction en langues africaines locales, notamment le baoulé, le bété, le malinké et le sénoufo. La rencontre comprendra une présentation du projet « Semer les graines d’éthique dans l’esprit des populations », une description des axes du Concours de Traduction de la Recommandation de l’UNESCO sur l’éthique de l’IA, ainsi qu’une séance d’échanges avec les étudiants et enseignants-chercheurs. Cette initiative unique vise à intégrer les principes éthiques liés à l’IA dans les cultures locales, permettant aux populations d’accéder à ces concepts dans leur propre langue. Les langues baoulé, bété, malinké et sénoufo ont été choisies pour cette édition, renforçant ainsi l’engagement de la Côte d’Ivoire en faveur d’une intelligence artificielle éthique et inclusive Cet événement historique verra la participation active de la communauté académique et des passionnés des nouvelles technologies, invités à y prendre part activement." #metaglossia_mundus: https://connectionivoirienne.net/2024/09/10/promouvoir-lethique-de-lia-en-langues-locales-une-initiative-de-la-chaire-unesco-de-bioethique/
"AE Learning is important in making Nigerian languages, particularly Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa, accessible to everyone. 11th September 2024 Afro-European Business Services Ltd, a UK-based digital technology company, has launched AE Learning, a new digital product aimed at promoting Nigerian languages and cultural heritage globally. The Chief Executive Officer, Oluseun Durowoju, said the product is designed to foster multi-cultural integration by teaching native Nigerian and African languages to individuals eager to learn from scratch or deepen their understanding of various languages and cultures. Durowoju emphasised the importance of AE Learning in making Nigerian languages, particularly Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa, accessible to everyone. He noted that the company plans to expand to other African languages in the future, ensuring these languages are easy to learn and enjoyable for both Nigerian-born individuals and those with ties to Nigeria, including children abroad and even within the country. “We’re committed to making these languages effortless and fun to learn. Whether you’re a child born outside Nigeria or someone interested in Nigerian heritage, AE Learning will make it accessible,” Durowoju said. Related News He further explained that AE Learning aims to elevate African languages as essential tools for addressing global challenges. “Our languages are the vehicles for driving crucial messages about environmental awareness, local business promotion, and global acceptance. We want the world to understand African languages and culture better, promoting harmony and integration,” he added Speaking on the platform’s potential, Senior Product Manager, Oluseyi Sodiya, described AE Learning as a timely innovation aimed at breaking language barriers and fostering peaceful coexistence. “It will enhance business interactions, social engagements, and multicultural relationships,” Sodiya said. He also announced an introductory offer for early users, where the first 100 subscribers will receive two additional months free after signing up for a two-month plan." #metaglossia_mundus: https://punchng.com/uk-firm-launches-ae-learning-to-promote-nigerian-languages/
"Traduction, enquête, pédagogie, technologies. Fort d’une longue expérience de la traduction, l’auteur présente un examen critique des grands courants théoriques de la traduction pragmatique.Il en tire des recommandations méthodologiques concernant la qualité des traductions professionnelles.Pour l’auteur, le principal outil de contrôle de la qualité réside dans une approche pédagogique de la révision, approche pertinente aussi bien en milieu professionnel que dans l’enseignement.Enfin, conscient des progrès fulgurants des nouvelles technologies, il présidera l’introduction de la traduction automatique neuronale (TAN) dans son service. Mais, dans une démarche méthodologique visant à éviter les biais cognitifs nuisant à la qualité des résultats, le choix des textes figurant dans le corpus alimentant le moteur de TAN est revenu aux réviseurs du service et non aux seuls informaticiens de la plateforme de TAN. Translation, inquiry, pedagogy, technologies. Based on its long experience of translation, the author presents a critical revieuw of the main theories on pragmatic translation.This leads him to propose methodological recommendations concerning quality of professional translation.According to him, the main the min instrument for controlling quality consists in a pedagogical approach of revision which can both apply to professional and teaching environments.Last but not least, being conscious of the tremendous progress of new technologies, he contributed to the introduction of neuronal machine translation (NMT) in his service However, in a methodological approach aiming at at preventing cognitive bias deteriorating the quality of NMT results, the choice of texts to be introduced in the corpus of the NAT system has been attributed to the senior revisers of the translation unit and not to the NMT service provider. Note de l’éditeur Publié avec le soutien de la Société française de Traductologie, Université de Paris Nanterre
"Harpur faculty revive Ladino, traditionally spoken by Sephardic Jews By Steve Seepersaud Spanish and Hebrew are two languages you probably wouldn’t link in terms of sound, appearance or cultural history. So, it may surprise you that a language exists that sounds like Spanish and has historically used varieties of the Hebrew alphabet. At its peak, Ladino — the language of Sephardic Jews — was spoken by about 250,000 people. After teetering on the brink of extinction, Ladino is not only still alive, but it’s attracting an increasing number of people who want to learn and speak it. This revival is partly because of the collaboration of two Harpur College faculty members. In 2020, Bryan Kirschen ’07, MA ’08, and Dina Danon created the Ladino Collaboratory — also known as the Ladino Lab — with the help of a grant from Binghamton University’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. This three-year initiative was intended to train students to read and speak Ladino, and introduce them to others who speak the language. When Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, they dispersed throughout the eastern Mediterranean region to lands that were part of the Ottoman Empire, establishing communities in cities in what are now modern-day Greece and Turkey. “Because the Ottomans were historically not interested in homogeneity, the empire had many ethnicities and many languages,” says Danon, associate professor of Judaic studies and history. “People preserved their cultural particulars in the lands of the Ottomans. Jews could speak the language they brought with them. Over centuries, Ladino evolved. As it came into contact with Turkish, French and Italian, there were regional variations of the language, and it managed to survive for hundreds of years in exile.” “Sephardim were often multilingual, and Ladino was a vibrant living language at the center of their linguistic production,” adds Kirschen, chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and associate professor of Spanish and linguistics. “While genocide and assimilation have escalated the degree of endangerment of Ladino, the language is still used in a variety of domains. Within academia, we have a platform to share the voices of minoritized groups. In particular, younger generations are showing interest in a language that has been pushed aside for generations.” The COVID-19 pandemic might seem like an odd historical reference point for a language that has endured for centuries. Ironically, the lockdowns provided an opportunity for Ladino to spread its reach. Kirschen and Danon initially created the concept for the Ladino Lab before the pandemic, with programming to be delivered in person. After the pandemic hit, they introduced an apprenticeship program that paired participants with partners across America with whom they would converse over Zoom. “Ladino has received a considerable uptick of attention and interest since 1992, which was the 500-year commemoration of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain,” Kirschen says. “In more recent years, the pandemic created many new opportunities to offer additional resources online. Before that, much of the activity in Ladino was limited to communities with Sephardic populations.” The three-year duration of the grant has concluded and the Ladino Lab is on pause. In the meantime, Kirschen is incorporating Ladino into upper-level Spanish courses and Danon introduces students to Ladino in Sephardic history classes. They are planning the next phase of the lab to meet the needs of a growing number of students who want to learn the language and history of the Sephardim. “Ladino was a language I heard around the house and something I came to study as an adult,” Danon reflects. “I was familiar with Ladino as a child, so part of it is a personal quest for preservation. The Holocaust almost completely erased Ladino off the map. We at Binghamton can continue it. Ladino is still alive, and we can engage people in all sectors of the campus. It’s meaningful to me both on a scholarly and personal level.” “For many, Ladino is more than just a language; it’s a movement,” Kirschen says. “Several of our students have continued conversations by phone or Zoom with their Ladino-speaking partners, which is very meaningful. While some members of our lab were Sephardic, most were not. Part of our goal is to educate students of different backgrounds on diverse historical, cultural and linguistic ways of being Jewish and speaking varieties of Spanish.”
''By adopting WANA to describe the vast interconnected geographical region, we can better honor its rich diversity and the people who call it home. The shift from MENA to WANA is more than just a name change. It represents a broader movement toward decolonizing our language and perspectives. Posted 11 September 2024 13:49 GMT A copy of Muhammad Al-Idrisi's world map by ‘Alî ibn Hasan al-Hûfî al-Qâsimî's from 1456. The original map dates back to 1154. South is at the top of the map. Image from Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. The term “Middle East and North Africa” (MENA) has long been used to describe a vast and diverse region stretching from Morocco in the west, to Iran in the east. However, the term’s Eurocentrism has been criticized, and in recent years we have seen a growing momentum to replace MENA with terms like SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) or WANA (West Asia and North Africa). As part of our mission of amplifying voices from across the globe, and in recognition of the importance of language, at Global Voices we have decided to adopt the term WANA instead of MENA as a way to challenge such outdated and colonial terminologies. This shift reflects an increasing awareness of colonial legacies and a desire to dismantle them across the globe. Decolonizing language and terminology to speak about the world and its peoples is part of this process. ‘Middle of where, east of what?’ “Middle East” is a term rooted in European colonialism, coined in the 19th century. It reflects a Eurocentric view, placing Europe at the center of the world map and labeling the regions to its east according to their distance from that center. Using Middle East perpetuates this colonial mindset by continuing to frame the region through that lens. The addition of “North Africa” to create MENA does little to address this issue, as it still links two regions — one described based on its own continental geography and the other based on its relation to Europe — under a single umbrella that fails to recognize their distinct identities and historical experiences. An Arabic debate? In Arabic, the term used to describe the region varies and often depends on political contexts. The most commonly used is in fact “الشرق الأوسط,” which translates directly to the Eurocentric “Middle East.” Though other terms like “غرب آسيا” meaning “West Asia,” are sometimes used as a decolonial choice in academic and political discourse, they are not nearly as commonly used as “Middle East.” West Asia is however mostly encountered in United Nations reports, as well as sporting events or regional championships. The other commonly used terms are “الوطن العربي,” translated as “the Arab Homeland,” or “العالم العربي,” translated as “the Arab World,” that are frequently used to emphasize the shared linguistic, cultural, and historical ties among Arab peoples in the 22 states that form the Arab League. This contested terminology excludes both the non-Arabic speaking states in the broader WANA region, but, most importantly, the many non-Arab groups who form an intrinsic part of the region’s diverse peoples, such as Kurds, Amazighs, Armenians, Assyrians and many others. “Muslim World” is another term often used to describe a wider region, which in turn excludes the many non-Muslim groups who exist within this geography, and many Muslim groups who are outside it. Though Arabic debates about language use in relation to identity, geography, and decolonization are happening, they remain less influential in their mainstream impact than their counterparts in English. The same can be said about other major languages such as French, Spanish or even Mandarin who continue to predominantly use terms equivalent to “Middle East” instead of more geographically accurate terms like West Asia. Nonetheless, debates, even if limited, are happening. Why SWANA or WANA? One of the key arguments for adopting SWANA or WANA is the geographic accuracy these terms provide. “Southwest Asia” and “West Asia,” like “North Africa,” are geographical descriptions of a region, positioning it within its continental context. These terms de-center the European perspective and instead focus on the region’s own geography. The use of WANA has gained traction among decolonial scholars and activists who seek to challenge the Eurocentrism or Orientalism carried by terms like MENA, Arab world, Muslim world, etc. used to describe these vast and diverse regions. The purely geographical designation of SWANA or WANA is able to acknowledge the diversity within these regions, as well as the proximity and connections between its parts. These geographical terms allow for a more nuanced understanding of identity, one that is not limited by colonial or cultural categorizations. By adopting WANA to describe the vast interconnected geographical region, we can better honor its rich diversity and the people who call it home." #metaglossia_mundus
Why cultural diversity and open mindsets are the basis for innovation and growth Intercultural competence promotes communication, cooperation and innovation in the global economy and creates an inclusive corporate culture. How can companies be truly successful in a globalized world? Intercultural competence is the answer. It not only promotes effective communication and collaboration between different cultures, but also creates an innovative, inclusive corporate culture. Find out how this skill strengthens corporate success in global markets and enables a creative and productive working environment. 1. What is intercultural competence? Intercultural competence is the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively and respectfully with people from different cultural backgrounds. This skill is becoming increasingly important in a networked world in which location, time, country and language barriers can be overcome more and more easily with the help of technology. In international companies, English has long been the corporate language in order to integrate foreign specialists. Outsourcing and offshoring to save costs requires smooth communication with people from other cultures in different time zones. Different expectations, working styles and mindsets have to be brought together and managed, which are not always obvious. How do you create a heightened awareness of cultural differences? Intercultural competence involves understanding that as an individual you are operating within a universe of contradictory cultural and historical conditions. These influences can include different conceptions of reality and divergent historical, political, geographical and social backgrounds. This means that, in addition to basic character skills, knowledge of modernization, globalization and the transformation of society through technology and science is necessary for a change of perspective. Without knowledge, there can be no understanding of different attitudes and behaviors. This also includes a fundamental understanding of ethical, philosophical and religious principles. An essential component of intercultural competence is the ability to critically reflect on one’s own cultural background. What understanding of roles has shaped me? Which values are particularly important to me and why? Much of what we learned in our childhood has solidified into automated behavior patterns that we no longer even notice in later life. But this conditioning significantly determines our thought process and therefore also how we see the world. External perspectives on our own lives can reveal this conditioning: This can sometimes be painful because we have to say goodbye to cherished truths. But if you open yourself up to this, it can also bring new insights. Only those who understand their own background and question the associated values and norms can view foreign perspectives on their own in an enriching light. 2. Intercultural competence and diversity Conflicts between cultures usually arise from misunderstandings. Every culture and every language is part of an institutional order that creates accepted and standardized imagery. Those who know these different systems of order and can relate them to each other have a clear advantage. Diversity in companies refers to the diversity of the workforce not only in terms of culture, but also in terms of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation and other characteristics. Intercultural competence plays a central role in promoting and utilizing this diversity. A company that promotes intercultural competence creates an environment in which employees are sensitized to understanding different points of view. They should thus be better able to react professionally, calmly and empathetically to conflicts and, first and foremost, to question possible cultural misunderstandings. This can also be helpful in other types of conflict, as it trains them to put themselves in the shoes of the other party and understand the problem from their perspective. Diversity has been proven to increase corporate success. The ability to recognize and appreciate cultural differences leads to a more inclusive corporate culture. This allows employees to feel safe and valued, which in turn increases their satisfaction and productivity. In addition, a diverse and interculturally competent team can develop creative and innovative solutions as they can draw from a wider range of experiences and perspectives. Another benefit is the improvement of international business relations. Companies that promote intercultural competence are better able to operate in global markets. They can understand and accommodate cultural differences in negotiating styles, business etiquette and customer preferences, leading to more successful international partnerships and business deals. In addition, companies can better position themselves strategically, professionally and communicatively for a planned internationalization if they are aware of common pitfalls in intercultural cooperation in advance and prepare themselves accordingly. 3. Intercultural competence and innovation Focusing on diversity by bringing different cultures together is not an easy model to implement and is not suitable for all companies. Successfully implementing a diversity strategy requires an understanding of innovation that most traditional companies do not have. It sees innovation not as an exception but as the rule and integrates open innovation networks in which different stakeholders are involved from the outset. It pursues a bottom-up strategy that uses agile, customer-oriented and data-supported insights from operations in iterative processes to align them with the management strategy. It relies on unusual, risky and untested thinking models outside the norm instead of chasing the zeitgeist. This is the only way to achieve a genuine knowledge advantage beyond conventions and established interpretations. Smooth collaboration works best in local, small networks – the so-called social fabric – which is characterized by similarities in characteristics such as wealth, level of education, but also ethnicity or regional culture. If you want to harness diversity here, you first need to train an understanding of intercultural competence, critical thinking and diversity of perspectives. To achieve this, educational institutions and companies need to focus more on promoting creative processes instead of passing on canonized knowledge. Canonized knowledge quickly becomes outdated in a world that generates an abundance of information and new specialized knowledge at an unprecedented speed. On the other hand, those who are able to critically assess and make judgments themselves will continue to be superior to computers and so-called artificial intelligence in the future. Conclusion on intercultural competence Intercultural competence is indispensable in today’s globalized and diverse working world. It enables companies to fully exploit the benefits of diversity and drive innovation. Only through the targeted promotion of intercultural skills can misunderstandings be minimized, an inclusive corporate culture created and international business relationships successfully shaped. Companies that recognize this and integrate it into their strategies not only position themselves more successfully on the global market, but also create a working environment in which creativity and collaboration can flourish. In a rapidly changing world, intercultural competence is therefore not only an advantage, but a necessity for sustainable success. Simone Belko is a media scientist and European studies scholar with a strong focus on digital literacy. With experience in journalism, PR, marketing, IT and training she has excelled in Germany and abroad. As a manager for digital products in the online games and FinTech industry she gained deep insights into online platforms and communities. Simone is the author of "Digital Consciousness" ("Das digitale Bewusstsein") and currently works at Otto GmbH, leveraging her expertise in business transformation.
Ghanaian Pidgin English: morphology and syntax was published in A Handbook of Varieties of English on page 2058. Magnus Huber1. IntroductionGhanaian Pidgin English (GhP) is part of the West African Pidgin (WAP) contin-uum, which includes the varieties spoken in Sierra Leone (Krio), Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. There are many similarities between the restructured Englishes spoken in these countries, which can to a large part be explained by the fact that the pidgins spoken in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon are offshoots of Krio (see Huber 1999: 75–134 for details). For this reason, the following sections will place special emphasis on those aspects where GhP differs from the other WAPs, in particular Nigerian Pidgin (NigP). Readers are therefore advised to consult the articles by Elugbe and Faraclas (this volume) to get a full contrastive view of NigP and GhP.Abbreviations used in this chapter are as follows: ABIL = ability (mood); CAUS = causative; COMPL = completive aspect; COP = copula; COMP = complemen-tizer; DEF = defi nite article; DEM = demonstrative; EMPH = emphasizer; FOC = focus marker; INCOMPL = incompletive aspect (progressive, habitual); INDEF = indefi nite article; INT = intentionalis; IRR = irrealis mood (future, conditional); NEG = negator; PLF = plural free subject pronoun; PLB = plural bound subject pronoun; PL = nominal plural; PLOB = plural bound object pronoun; SGB = sin-gular free subject pronoun; SB = singular bound pronoun; SEQ = sequential tense; SGOB = singular bound object pronoun; SGPOSS = singular possessive pronoun; SGREFL = singular refl exive pronoun; TOP = topicalizer.
Why cultural diversity and open mindsets are the basis for innovation and growth Intercultural competence promotes communication, cooperation and innovation in the global economy and creates an inclusive corporate culture. How can companies be truly successful in a globalized world? Intercultural competence is the answer. It not only promotes effective communication and collaboration between different cultures, but also creates an innovative, inclusive corporate culture. Find out how this skill strengthens corporate success in global markets and enables a creative and productive working environment. 1. What is intercultural competence? Intercultural competence is the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively and respectfully with people from different cultural backgrounds. This skill is becoming increasingly important in a networked world in which location, time, country and language barriers can be overcome more and more easily with the help of technology. In international companies, English has long been the corporate language in order to integrate foreign specialists. Outsourcing and offshoring to save costs requires smooth communication with people from other cultures in different time zones. Different expectations, working styles and mindsets have to be brought together and managed, which are not always obvious. How do you create a heightened awareness of cultural differences? Intercultural competence involves understanding that as an individual you are operating within a universe of contradictory cultural and historical conditions. These influences can include different conceptions of reality and divergent historical, political, geographical and social backgrounds. This means that, in addition to basic character skills, knowledge of modernization, globalization and the transformation of society through technology and science is necessary for a change of perspective. Without knowledge, there can be no understanding of different attitudes and behaviors. This also includes a fundamental understanding of ethical, philosophical and religious principles. An essential component of intercultural competence is the ability to critically reflect on one’s own cultural background. What understanding of roles has shaped me? Which values are particularly important to me and why? Much of what we learned in our childhood has solidified into automated behavior patterns that we no longer even notice in later life. But this conditioning significantly determines our thought process and therefore also how we see the world. External perspectives on our own lives can reveal this conditioning: This can sometimes be painful because we have to say goodbye to cherished truths. But if you open yourself up to this, it can also bring new insights. Only those who understand their own background and question the associated values and norms can view foreign perspectives on their own in an enriching light. 2. Intercultural competence and diversity Conflicts between cultures usually arise from misunderstandings. Every culture and every language is part of an institutional order that creates accepted and standardized imagery. Those who know these different systems of order and can relate them to each other have a clear advantage. Diversity in companies refers to the diversity of the workforce not only in terms of culture, but also in terms of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation and other characteristics. Intercultural competence plays a central role in promoting and utilizing this diversity. A company that promotes intercultural competence creates an environment in which employees are sensitized to understanding different points of view. They should thus be better able to react professionally, calmly and empathetically to conflicts and, first and foremost, to question possible cultural misunderstandings. This can also be helpful in other types of conflict, as it trains them to put themselves in the shoes of the other party and understand the problem from their perspective. Diversity has been proven to increase corporate success. The ability to recognize and appreciate cultural differences leads to a more inclusive corporate culture. This allows employees to feel safe and valued, which in turn increases their satisfaction and productivity. In addition, a diverse and interculturally competent team can develop creative and innovative solutions as they can draw from a wider range of experiences and perspectives. Another benefit is the improvement of international business relations. Companies that promote intercultural competence are better able to operate in global markets. They can understand and accommodate cultural differences in negotiating styles, business etiquette and customer preferences, leading to more successful international partnerships and business deals. In addition, companies can better position themselves strategically, professionally and communicatively for a planned internationalization if they are aware of common pitfalls in intercultural cooperation in advance and prepare themselves accordingly. 3. Intercultural competence and innovation Focusing on diversity by bringing different cultures together is not an easy model to implement and is not suitable for all companies. Successfully implementing a diversity strategy requires an understanding of innovation that most traditional companies do not have. It sees innovation not as an exception but as the rule and integrates open innovation networks in which different stakeholders are involved from the outset. It pursues a bottom-up strategy that uses agile, customer-oriented and data-supported insights from operations in iterative processes to align them with the management strategy. It relies on unusual, risky and untested thinking models outside the norm instead of chasing the zeitgeist. This is the only way to achieve a genuine knowledge advantage beyond conventions and established interpretations. Smooth collaboration works best in local, small networks – the so-called social fabric – which is characterized by similarities in characteristics such as wealth, level of education, but also ethnicity or regional culture. If you want to harness diversity here, you first need to train an understanding of intercultural competence, critical thinking and diversity of perspectives. To achieve this, educational institutions and companies need to focus more on promoting creative processes instead of passing on canonized knowledge. Canonized knowledge quickly becomes outdated in a world that generates an abundance of information and new specialized knowledge at an unprecedented speed. On the other hand, those who are able to critically assess and make judgments themselves will continue to be superior to computers and so-called artificial intelligence in the future. Conclusion on intercultural competence Intercultural competence is indispensable in today’s globalized and diverse working world. It enables companies to fully exploit the benefits of diversity and drive innovation. Only through the targeted promotion of intercultural skills can misunderstandings be minimized, an inclusive corporate culture created and international business relationships successfully shaped. Companies that recognize this and integrate it into their strategies not only position themselves more successfully on the global market, but also create a working environment in which creativity and collaboration can flourish. In a rapidly changing world, intercultural competence is therefore not only an advantage, but a necessity for sustainable success. Simone Belko is a media scientist and European studies scholar with a strong focus on digital literacy. With experience in journalism, PR, marketing, IT and training she has excelled in Germany and abroad. As a manager for digital products in the online games and FinTech industry she gained deep insights into online platforms and communities. Simone is the author of "Digital Consciousness" ("Das digitale Bewusstsein") and currently works at Otto GmbH, leveraging her expertise in business transformation.
The 21st International Congress of Linguists commenced at 11 a.m. on Sunday at the MTP Poznań Expo. The event is held every five years in a different country. This year, the Congress is co-organised by Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. - "The theme of the Congress in 2024 in Poznań is Languages - Communities - Technologies Languages - Communities - Technologies". - says Prof. Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kołaczyk, AMU Vice-Rector for Research and Chair of the ICL 2024 Organising Committee - "The theme covers, firstly, a broad range of research fields within linguistics such as phonetics and phonology, history of language, lexicology and lexicography, corpus linguistics, translation studies, syntax and morphology, and so on. Conversely, it deals with interdisciplinary topics extending disciplines such as sociology, psychology, computer science and medicine. The linguists participating in the Congress will tackle socially relevant subjects, e.g. the role of language for artificial intelligence, linguistic diversity, ways of documenting languages and the threat to the world's languages, multilingualism - responding to the question of whether it is worth learning more than one language, or how language and emotions are processed in the human brain. A group of sign language interpreters will cover the session on sign languages," - Prof Dziubalska-Kołaczyk concluded. The Congress opened on Sunday 8, September and will continue until 14 September. More information on the event can be found at https://icl2024poznan.pl/
Interpreters Unlimited Named One of America's Top 100 Small Businesses 09-09-2024 09:30 AM CET |
Press release from: Interpreters Unlimited The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and CO-, its award-winning digital platform for small businesses, has announced that Interpreters Unlimited (IU) was chosen for the CO-100: America's Top 100 Small Businesses list.
IU was selected out of more than 14,000 companies by an esteemed panel of judges for its overall growth driven by cutting-edge ideas, resilience, and strong employee culture. This exclusive honor recognizes IU and their significant contributions to the economy, community, and its commitment to excellence.
The CO-100 list includes a diverse array of small businesses of all sizes and industries located in 31 states and Washington, D.C. A leading Language Service Provider specializing in foreign language interpretation, American Sign Language, and document translation, IU is proud to stand alongside other exceptional businesses on the list, representing the best of American entrepreneurship and innovation.
"As the world's largest business organization representing companies of all sizes and industries, we understand what makes a business great," said Jeanette Mulvey, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of CO- by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "The CO-100 founders, owners, entrepreneurs, and employees showcase the exceptional talent and innovation within the American business community."
Since its founding, Interpreters Unlimited has been at the forefront of delivering high-quality language services to a diverse range of clients, including educational institutions, healthcare providers, government agencies, and businesses across the nation. By ensuring that language is never a barrier to communication, IU has played a pivotal role in supporting the needs of Limited English Proficient and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing communities.
The CO-100 award highlights IU's ongoing efforts to innovate and adapt in an ever-changing marketplace. With proprietary technologies that streamline service delivery, such as their client web portal and Auto Scheduling feature, IU has set new standards for efficiency and customer satisfaction in the language services industry.
In addition to its business achievements, Interpreters Unlimited is deeply committed to giving back to the community including pro bono language services for the NORAD Tracks Santa program and supporting local causes from combatting homelessness to providing resources for refugee families to name a few.
"We are incredibly honored to be named to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO-100 list," said Sayed Ali, President of Interpreters Unlimited. "This recognition reflects our team's dedication to providing exceptional language services that bridge communication gaps and foster inclusivity. It also underscores our commitment to making a positive impact on the communities we serve."
For more information about Interpreters Unlimited, Inc., please visit www.interpreters.com or call 800-726-9891.
Interpreters Unlimited
8943 Calliandra Rd
San Diego, CA 92126
Press Contact: Marc Westray
marc.westray@interpreters.com
The IU Group of companies include: Interpreters Unlimited, Accessible Communication for the Deaf, Albors & Alnet, Arkansas Spanish Interpreters and Translators, and IU GlobeLink, LLC, and are headquartered in San Diego, California as a minority-owned company. IU Group is committed to providing equal opportunity in the work environment with its diverse team to aid in supplying linguistic and cultural interpretation services to clients. A combined 70 years in the industry has demonstrated a surplus of leadership and best practices, which has helped establish its respected role in the language services community. Its services include interpretation, document translation and non-emergency medical transportation.
This release was published on openPR. #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.openpr.com/news/3648234/interpreters-unlimited-named-one-of-america-s-top-100-small
Timekettle W4 Pro launches at IFA 2024 to revolutionize cross-language business communications Timekettle W4 Pro AI Interpreter Earbuds provide instant two-way translation for face-to-face or remote communication in 40 languages. Sep 9, 2024 2:04 am PDT Timekettle has unveiled its W4 Pro AI Interpreter Earbuds at the IFA 2024 tradeshow in Berlin, the first open-fit translator buds with support for audio and video translation, a specialized vocabulary database, and premium sound quality. The new product is an upgrade over the company’s W3 translator buds, with a more ergonomic open-fit design, upgraded audio hardware, enhanced battery life, and advanced real-time translation capabilities that promise more engaging and effective multilingual conversations. With instant startup, the W4 Pro is professional, fast and efficient. Dedicated translation modes can meet all your business needs, whether you are meeting face-to-face, remotely over a video call, or in a group boardroom setting. Their usefulness also extends outside the working day, with the W4 Pro able to assist with all manner of foreign living scenarios, from studying abroad to making new friends, organizing doctor appointments and even ordering food in restaurants. What problem does Timekettle W4 Pro solve? Translation software is ideal for communicating with business colleagues in other languages over email, but face-to-face meetings can still be problematic, fraught with misunderstandings, inaccuracies, and awkward silences as the software tries to play catch up with what’s going on in the room. Meanwhile, handheld translator devices can be impersonal and ineffective. Timekettle aims to change this with its W4 Pro buds. Dubbed ‘AI Interpreter Earbuds’, Timekettle says its earbuds function as your personal global business assistant, and act as a real-life ‘Babel Fish’ to enable free communication across languages. For those who are not familiar with that Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference, the W4 Pro is a headset that can initiate automatic two-way translation in both conversational and business meeting settings, allowing you to understand those ‘alien’ languages. Real-time translation smooths interactions and enables more natural and instantaneous cross-language communication. The company’s evolving HybridComm technology leans on AI to provide a seamless multi-user experience. Unlike many alternatives, the experience is hands-free, which means you can maintain eye contact throughout. In removing the obstacles and allowing chatter to flow more freely, the W4 Pro stands to enable deeper connections and more meaningful conversations. Timekettle supports real-time translation in 40 languages and 93 accents. The W4 Pro’s upgraded three-mic array, enhanced voice recognition and vector noise cancellation (VNC) combat background noise to ensure voices are picked up clearly, with up to 95% accuracy in translations. A personal glossary also lets you add business jargon and other custom terms for more precise translations. Timekettle W4 Pro translation modes Timekettle’s W4 Pro has three translation modes to allow for multiple business scenarios: - One-on-one:Best for two-way conversations, Timekettle’s dual-interpretation system combines both voices into a single feed to allow for real-time translation and more naturally flowing conversation.
- Listen & Play:Best for multilingual meetings, the W4 Pro can seamlessly switch between listening and speaking at the click of a button. AI-powered rapid sentence parsing aids information absorption and retention. Plus, you can automatically save the audio, and use AI Memo to collect handy post-meeting notes. New in W4 Pro is the ability to simultaneously process audio in five different languages.
- Media Translation:Best for video calls, unexpected phone calls and streaming media, this mode provides video translation with real-time subtitles and helpful after-event summaries.
Timekettle Timekettle W4 Pro hardware These are premium buds, capable of delivering high-end, crystal clear sound quality, whether you are listening to translated audio or music. The W4 Pro has an open-ear design, measuring 80.1×57.7×25.4mm and weighing 16.1g, making it comfortable to wear for extended periods. Timekettle A 110mAh battery in each bud is good for six hours of translation or 12 hours of audio playback. Expect them to recharge in an hour when packed in the supplied charging case, which can charge the buds two times. When that’s empty, it’ll take 1.5 hours to recharge over USB-C. Connecting over Bluetooth 5.3, you’ll need to pair the W4 Pro with a smartphone running Android 10/iOS 14 or later. The companion app can additionally perform offline translation from English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Russian or Korean into English or Chinese. #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2445815/timekettle-w4-pro.html
The acquisition will accelerate adoption of HumanAI, EasyTranslate’s proprietary technology. EasyTranslate acquires WorldTranslation The acquisition will accelerate adoption of HumanAI, EasyTranslate’s proprietary technology. Lucy Adams 09 September 2024 Copenhagen-based translation company EasyTranslate has acquired Nordic WorldTranslation, in a deal that allows them to combine their language expertise. While the exact terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, EasyTranslate says that the company’s annual revenues will consequently double to more than €10 million and is the next milestone in EasyTranslate’s development. The company has previously raised a total of €6.3 million in capital funding. The acquisition will accelerate business adoption of HumanAI, EasyTranslate’s proprietary technology, which integrates the efficiency and speed of AI with the consistency and quality of human expertise. EasyTranslate inherits WorldTranslation’s team of 28 full-time employees and with its integration, EasyTranslate will expand its SaaS and e-commerce customer base, strengthening its foundation for growth. The news follows last month’s appointment of EasyTranslate CEO Frederik R. Pederson to the Forbes Technology Council. The acquisition marks the latest stage in EasyTranslate’s strategy to become the market-leading company for translation technology and services. EasyTranslate was supported in this transaction by its financial and strategic partner Pride Capital Partners. "As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the translation industry, this acquisition represents a key step in our mission to combine the best of AI and human expertise. World Translation’s commitment to quality and deep understanding of clients’ needs aligns perfectly with our vision.” said Frederik R. Pedersen, CEO, EasyTranslate. By automating repetitive tasks and optimising translation workflows, HumanAI slashes turnaround times while still ensuring that the cultural nuances and context that only human linguists can provide are never lost. For customers, this means faster, more reliable translations that maintain the high standards of accuracy and relevance necessary for global communication and the WorldTranslation acquisition will enhance this offering. "Over the years, many of our employees have raised questions about how the rise of AI would shape our company and the industry. When I began discussions with Frederik, it became clear that EasyTranslate’s mission to keep humans at the heart of the translation process while leveraging AI was exactly the approach we needed, said Ib Brandt Jørgensen, CEO of World Translation. #metaglossia_mundus: https://tech.eu/2024/09/09/easytranslate-acquires-worldtranslation/
The number of language groups lacking the development of a Bible in their native tongue is now less than 1,000, reports say. The number of global language groups without a Bible translation being developed in their primary language has dropped below 1,000 for the first time—a major milestone toward the goal of getting the Scripture into a form everyone can access. ProgressBible, a nearly 10-year-old network of more than 30 evangelical ministries that tracks global Bible access statistics, says there are now 985 languages for which a Bible translation has yet to begin development. That number is a sharp decline from just three years ago, when there were 1,892 language groups, representing 145 million people, without a Bible translation being developed. Much of the progress recently has been among several major languages in sensitive areas being started in the last three years, the group says. In 1999, a group of mission organizations adopted Vision 2025, an endeavor to see Bible translation started in this generation for every language that still needs it. Christy Liner, director of partnerships for SIL and ProgressBible’s former program director, said in a statement released by Wycliffe Global Alliance that just four years ago, the Vision 2025 task still looked decades away. Liner says there are still large barriers to overcome, including 392 known sign languages and language groups that are hard to access, especially in East Asia. “But if you just look at it as a whole,” Liner says, “in a way it actually feels like maybe it’s within reach. Maybe it’s not so crazy. And it used to feel like there was just no way.” Globally, according to ProgressBible, some 6 billion people now have access to the full Bible in their primary language and 7.3 billion have some of the Scripture in their primary language. So that makes around 99.5% of the world with either access to some of the Bible in a language they can understand, or access coming soon because a translation into their language is underway. The 756 languages that have a full Bible translation represent 6 billion of the world’s 7.4 billion population, according to Wycliffe Global Alliance. Of the remaining 1.4 billion, 835 million have language access to the New Testament and another 468 billion have portions of the Bible in their language. Terry Dehart, ProgressBible data analyst, celebrates the progress made but notes that the remaining people groups may be the hardest to engage with Scripture. “When I look at the numbers … The low-hanging fruit has been picked. We’re down to the hard ones,” Dehart says. “When you look at East Asia, it’s flat. There has been almost no change since 2020. And we need a movement of God, full stop. We’ve done everything we can think of and it’s flat. So now what? We need God to intervene.” #metaglossia_mundus: https://decisionmagazine.com/groups-needing-bible-translation-now-less-than-1000/
Dunya Mikhail Talks Mythology, Translating Her Own Poetry, and Exploring the Past Through Objects The Author of “Tablets: Secrets of the Clay” in Conversation with Poets.org By Literary Hub September 9, 2024 Lit Hub is excited to feature another entry from Poets.org’s “enjambments,” a monthly interview series with new and established poets. This month, they spoke to Dunya Mikhail. Dunya Mikhail is the author of numerous books of poetry, including Tablets: Secrets of the Clay (New Directions, 2024). She has been awarded the Arab American Book Award for Poetry, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture, and the United Nations Human Rights Award for Freedom of Writing. Mikhail lives in Michigan, where she is a lecturer of Arabic at Oakland University. Poets.org: So much of Tablets is rooted in mythology, as evidenced particularly by the collection’s allusions to the stories of Gilgamesh, Rapunzel, and Cinderella. What is the influence of mythology on your work as a poet, and how might poetry be its own form of mythmaking? Dunya Mikhail: In many ways, poetry itself is an act of mythmaking, a form of alchemy that transforms reality into something timeless, allowing us to revisit and reshape our own truths. Mythology is a living presence in my poetry, a dynamic framework through which I explore universal emotions and struggles that continue to resonate in contemporary life. The first stories and folk tales I heard were narrated by my grandmother. We would lie on the roof of our home in Baghdad, under the open sky, as she shared these tales with me. Those nights were my first encounters with literature; and the stories, rich with personal and collective wisdom, etched themselves into my soul. They shaped how I see the world and craft my words. Through poetry, the myths of old are reborn, carrying the weight of history while illuminating the complexities of modern life. Poets.org: In the Author’s Note, you say there are at least two layers of translation in Tablets: “the first from words in one language, Arabic, to another, English; and the second from words to images.” As a translator yourself, could you talk about the difference between translating your own work and that of another author? Translating my own work gives me a wider space to understand it more deeply and to diagnose its flaws. I see it as a second writing rather than translation. DM: Translating my own work gives me a wider space to understand it more deeply and to diagnose its flaws. I see it as a second writing rather than translation. A dialogue happens between the Arabic and English versions of the text. Like true lovers, they evolve together without imposing too much on each other. Translating someone else’s work, on the other hand, feels like stepping into another world—a world crafted by a voice and vision that are not my own. The responsibility becomes about listening carefully to their intent, preserving their tone and emotion, while finding the right expression in a different language. In both cases, translation is about more than words; it’s about capturing the spirit of the original and conveying it in a way that resonates just as deeply in the new language. Poets.org: The poems in “Tablets I” depict connections and missed connections as well as the ways in which technology both brings us closer, even “ignit[ing] revolutions,” and widens the distances between us. The conciseness of these poems is akin to that of the instant messages that you mention in No. 21. What led to your choice to maintain such brevity in these poems, though each one tells a unique story? DM: In Tablets, the brevity mirrors the fragmentation of our modern existence—where messages are instant, moments fleeting, and communication is often reduced to its barest essentials. Each poem is a tablet, a fragment of a larger mosaic, and this fragmentary nature reflects the way we experience connection and disconnection in our lives. As an Iraqi, I witnessed how my people, driven by the unrelenting wars, were forced to scatter across the world, like billiard balls struck by a powerful blow. “Tablets I, No. 21,” which you mentioned, was written in response to witnessing a group of young, liberal Iraqis demand a homeland. They sent instant messages to each other, sharing dreams of freedom, and took to the streets in protest, holding posters that read, “We want a homeland.” Just as an instant message can ignite a revolution, so too can a brief poem spark an entire world of meaning. Poets.org: The numbered stanzas look at ordinary objects and beings with a refracted lens that show the reader a new, even magical perspective. Often, daily practical objects, like ceramic bowls, appear in both ancient and contemporary art. You reference Sumerian cuneiform tablets as an inspiration for this collection. Can you speak to the material quality of these poems and what helped you find a new perspective on ordinary objects? DM: For me, these objects are far more than mere physical items; they are symbols that carry memory, history, and meaning. The poems in Tablets are an attempt to reconnect with that sense of materiality to explore how the past and present coexist within the objects we encounter in our everyday lives. I wanted to delve into that duality—the way something as seemingly simple as a ceramic bowl or a clay tablet can hold extraordinary significance. By looking at these objects through a refracted lens, I aimed to uncover their stories, to connect them to the broader human experience. Each object, in its quiet presence, speaks of lives lived, of hands that shaped them, and of the continuous thread of existence that links us all. Poets.org: What are you currently reading? I am currently reading Signs, Music by Raymond Antrobus. The poems in Tablets are an attempt to reconnect with that sense of materiality to explore how the past and present coexist within the objects we encounter in our everyday lives. Poets.org: What are your favorite poems on Poets.org? DM: It’s hard to collect all the poems I’ve been enjoying all these years, but Ilya Kaminsky’s “We Lived Happily During the War” is one that has stayed in my mind. ______________________________ “enjambments,” a monthly interview series produced by the Academy of American Poets, will highlight an emerging or established poet who has recently published a poetry collection. Each interview, along with poems from the poet’s new book, and a reading by the poet, will be published on Poets.org and shared in the Academy’s weekly newsletter. #metaglossia_mundus: https://lithub.com/dunya-mikhail-talks-mythology-translating-her-own-poetry-and-exploring-the-past-through-objects/
Comme dans tout domaine, il ne faut ni diaboliser ni sous-estimer l’IA. Des membres de l’Association française des formations universitaires aux métiers de la traduction expliquent pourquoi ils croient toujours à l’avenir de leur profession. Actualités] Le Monde. Tribune. « Non, l’intelligence artificielle ne remplacera pas les traducteurs et traductrices ! » Actualités de l'UFR « Mais pourquoi veux-tu faire une formation en traduction : avec la traduction automatique, et maintenant ChatGPT, tu ne trouveras jamais de travail… ? » C’est une remarque que beaucoup de nos étudiants entendent, souvent venue de leurs parents. Dans la presse, sur les réseaux sociaux, partout prolifèrent les messages alarmistes sur l’obsolescence programmée de la profession de traducteur. Il nous paraît indispensable d’y répondre, sans verser dans le déni de réalité ni prétendre avoir toutes les réponses. En rappelant un certain nombre de faits, loin des prédictions millénaristes : l’IA n’est ni le nouveau représentant de Satan sur terre ni la solution à l’intégralité des problèmes qu’affronte aujourd’hui l’humanité. La profession de traducteur recouvre un grand nombre de métiers, qui ont profondément évolué ces trente dernières années. Très loin de se limiter au versant littéraire et culturel qui en est la partie la plus visible, la traduction est passée d’une vision avant tout artisanale à une approche professionnelle destinée à rendre un service à la société et à ses différents acteurs (entreprises, services publics, citoyens, justiciables…). Elle concerne, selon les périmètres retenus, entre 20 000 et 50 000 professionnels en France, qui sont un rouage essentiel, quoique discret, du fonctionnement de l’économie et des sociétés d’aujourd’hui. Peuvent-ils faire l’impasse sur les évolutions technologiques ? Seulement à leurs risques et périls. Condamner l’usage de l’IA sans autre forme de procès n’empêchera nullement sa diffusion. Nous estimons que notre rôle de responsables de formations n’est pas de porter un jugement moral sur ces évolutions ou de dicter à nos futurs diplômés ce qu’ils doivent devenir. Il demeure de préparer nos étudiants à faire les choix informés qui leur permettront d’exercer une activité rémunératrice, en étant reconnus à leur juste valeur professionnelle. C’est la raison pour laquelle, à l’échelle des formations, de l’association française qui les regroupe (l’AFFUMT, Association française des formations universitaires aux métiers de la traduction) ainsi qu’au sein du réseau EMT (European Masters in Translation/Master européen en traduction), nous avons entrepris de comprendre ce que l’irruption de l’IA signifie dans notre secteur et d’y apporter une réponse réfléchie et constructive. Parce que nous nous inscrivons dans un écosystème complexe, cette réflexion est menée avec les autres acteurs du secteur car c’est seulement ensemble que nous parviendrons à peser sur ces évolutions, qui nous concernent directement mais touchent plus largement toute la société. Non, répétons-le, l’IA ne va pas faire disparaître les traducteurs. « Sauf [peut-être] ceux qui traduisent d’ores et déjà comme des machines », ajoutait il y a une dizaine d’années le terminologue et traductologue américain Alan Melby au sujet de la traduction automatique. Les questions que pose aujourd’hui l’IA générative sont au demeurant assez similaires à celles que soulève la traduction automatique neuronale, dont l’apparition il y a 8 années déjà permet une prise de recul vis-à-vis de son utilisation et de son intégration dans le quotidien des professionnels. Le monde de la traduction est ainsi mieux préparé que d’autres pour réfléchir à l’impact de nouveaux outils sur le secteur. L’IA aura – elle a d’ores et déjà − un profond impact sur certains segments du marché ; d’autres seront fort peu concernés (la communication haut de gamme, la traduction marketing, par exemple) ; dans bien des cas, elle conduira − et conduit déjà − à de profonds changements dans la chaîne qui part d’un texte original pour atteindre des destinataires finals ; elle va aussi − comme bien d’autres innovations par le passé − faire naître de nouveaux besoins et de nouveaux métiers. Certains, même, s’en emparent pour en faire un outil de créativité. Comme les autres professions, celle de traducteur doit s’adapter, mais dès lors que ses destinataires sont des êtres humains, il faudra encore et toujours des êtres humains correctement formés pour garantir que les documents qui leur sont destinés répondent à leurs besoins, en termes de qualité, de ressenti et de pertinence. Ce qui suppose, dans un univers très diversifié, une maîtrise de l’outil informatique, des options stratégiques et bien sûr, encore et toujours, des compétences traditionnelles de traduction. À ce stade de nos réflexions, nous estimons qu’une intégration fructueuse de l’IA dans les métiers de la traduction passe par un surcroît plutôt que par une dilution des compétences attendues des traducteurs professionnels. Elle nécessitera également une utilisation éthique, respectueuse des différentes parties, qui garantisse aux traducteurs des conditions de travail décentes et une rémunération juste. Les formations ont commencé de s’atteler à ce qui constitue non pas une promesse de disparition, mais une mutation. En somme, vis-à-vis de l’IA, il faut remplacer l’affect par l’observation des évolutions et l’élaboration collective d’une réponse. C’est vrai, le devenir professionnel des traducteurs que nous formons nous tient à coeur. Mais ce qui nous tient encore plus à coeur, c’est ce service, multiforme, rendu à la société. Et c’est parce que nous sommes persuadés que la traduction humaine, outillée, utilisatrice ou non de l’IA, a et aura toujours une valeur ajoutée à apporter, que nous sommes attachés à notre mission de formateurs de traducteurs. [Signature] Au nom de l’AFFUMT (Association française des formations universitaires aux métiers de la traduction), Nicolas Froeliger, professeur à l’Université Paris Cité ; Katell Hernandez Morin, maîtresse de conférences à l’Université Rennes 2, présidente de l’AFFUMT ; Vasilica Le Floch, maîtresse de conférences à l’Université de Lorraine ; Rudy Loock, professeur à l’Université de Lille ; Alain Volclair, directeur de l’Institut européen des métiers de la traduction, Strasbourg ; Will Noonan, maître de conférence à l’Université de Bourgogne). #metaglossia_mundus: https://u-paris.fr/eila/actualites-le-monde-tribune-non-lintelligence-artificielle-ne-remplacera-pas-les-traducteurs-et-traductrices/
À Saint-Sauveur, les chefs de l'APNQL ont signé la Déclaration sur les droits des Premières Nations aux langues ancestrales. Le deuxième Forum sur les droits linguistiques des Premières Nations s’est tenu au Manoir Saint-Sauveur, les 4 et 5 septembre. L’événement s’est terminé par la signature de la Déclaration sur les droits des Premières Nations aux langues ancestrales. « Je pense que c’est un moment historique pour nos Nations d’adopter une déclaration comme telle, pour protéger, promouvoir et surtout sauvegarder nos langues. Nous avons cette responsabilité d’assurer la protection de nos langues, pour que les prochaines générations puissent encore les parler », s’est réjoui Sipi Flamand, chef de Manawan et chef porteur du dossier des langues pour l’Assemblée des Premières Nations du Québec-Labrador (APNQL). Situation précaire L’APNQL représente 43 communautés issues de 10 nations et « autant de dialectes », a souligné le chef de l’APNQL, Ghislain Picard. Ces dialectes « font partie de la réalité d’aujourd’hui, mais représente aussi une énorme préoccupation ». Il a aussi souligné l’importance « de reconnaître et remercier le territoire qui nous reçoit ». « On sait que nos langues viennent du territoire. On protège par ailleurs l’ensemble de nos territoires avec cette déclaration-là », a ajouté M. Flamand. La déclaration représente un engagement envers « ce qui est nécessaire et doit être fait pour garantir et protéger nos langues ancestrales », a poursuivi M. Picard. « C’est une position basée sur le consensus, qui avance plusieurs principes clés concernant les langues autochtones », a-t-il indiqué. Le chef a rappelé que nous en sommes à la deuxième année de la Décennie internationale des langues autochtones, décrétée par l’UNESCO. « De toute évidence, nous sommes aux premières loges de cet énorme défi que présente la sauvegarde des langues autochtones au niveau international. » Au Canada, il y a plus d’une soixantaine de dialectes autochtones, « dont beaucoup sont dans une situation extrêmement précaire ». « Dans certains cas, pour nos soeurs et nos frères de la Côte ouest, ce sont des locuteurs qui se comptent sur les doigts des deux mains », a illustré M. Picard. « Notre droit, notre juridiction et notre compétence » M. Picard a insisté que la déclaration est aussi un message adressé aux gouvernements du Québec et du Canada, et même aux gouvernements municipaux. La déclaration affirme « l’étendue de ce que nous considérons comme étant notre droit, notre juridiction et notre compétence à protéger nos langues ». Les Premières Nations sont ouvertes à une collaboration et même à l’adoption de lois dans l’objectif de les soutenir, comme l’a fait le gouvernement fédéral avec la loi C-91, a ajouté M. Picard. « La Déclaration est un peu cette invitation-là, cette main tendue aux gouvernements, pour qu’on puisse s’assoir ensemble, sans qu’une partie conditionne l’autre partie. […] Les gouvernements se doivent également de respecter nos processus. On représente une grande diversité. » Langue coloniale « Je vais vous parler dans la langue coloniale qui a été utilisée pour la Nation crie », a souligné la grande cheffe crie Mandy Gull Mast. En 2019, le gouvernement cri a adopté une première loi pour supporter et promouvoir l’usage de la langue crie. « Elle vise aussi à supporter les efforts des Cris à retrouver, revitaliser, maintenir et renforcer la langue crie. Elle a un plan pour assurer que des activités sont en place pour restaurer, continuer d’utiliser et maîtriser la langue crie. » « Pour nous, la langue crie est primordiale. Nous avons une responsabilité de la protéger », a-t-elle insisté. L’objectif est également d’avoir les outils pour « se réapproprier » la langue crie. La grande cheffe Gull Mast a souhaité que cette loi serve d’exemple de collaboration. « Je suis profondément touchée de voir tous les chefs participer à l’adoption de la déclaration. […] Nous avons chacun notre propre approche pour maintenir nos langues ancestrales. » « Un droit de naissance » Sarah Cleary, directrice du Comité régional des langues ancestrales, a souligné la participation de tous les chefs dans la rédaction de cette déclaration. « Également, nos aînés ont pris leurs forces et sont encore très actifs dans leur rôle de transmettre et protéger leur langue », a-t-elle ajouté. « C’est un droit de naissance, pour nos enfants et les générations qui s’en viennent, de parler leur langue. C’est pour ça qu’on va travailler », a souligné Mme Cleary. « Nos langues sont une richesse collective : pas seulement pour nous, mais pour l’ensemble de la société. » L’objectif est aussi de « renforcer les capacités des acteurs qui sont sur le terrain ». « Quelles communautés sont capables de créer des locuteurs aujourd’hui ? Comment elles le font ? » Ces réussites pourront ensuite être partagés avec les autres communautés. Mme Cleary a souhaité qu’il y ait « des enfants de 4 ans qui n’ont pas de parents ou de grands-parents qui parlent la langue, mais qu’on ait mis en place, dans nos structures et nos institutions, des modèles tellement efficaces, qu’ils peuvent se réapproprier ce droit de parler leur langue ». #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.journalacces.ca/actualite/la-declaration-sur-les-droits-des-premieres-nations-aux-langues-ancestrales-est-signee-a-saint-sauveur/
«Elle enjoint son amie de venir»: attention à la faute grammaticale ! Par Le Figaro C’est une faute à laquelle n'échappent même les plus aguerris de la plume Le verbe «enjoindre» est un véritable piège quand il s’agit de l’employer. La rédaction revient sur son bon usage. «Le parlement enjoint Emmanuel Macron d’agir», «la justice enjoint la France d’accélérer les choses», «“ne cédons rien à la division”, enjoint le président de la République»... L’air de rien, ces phrases cachent pourtant une mauvaise construction avec l’emploi du verbe «enjoindre» en l’absence de préposition. Cela n’a pas échappé à l’œil acéré de Bruno Dewaele, ancien champion du monde d’orthographe et spécialiste de la langue française, qui l’a relevée. Ce dernier a consacré deux billets à l’usage du verbe «enjoindre», ce qui témoigne bien de la difficulté de son emploi. «Je crois que les dictionnaires ne nous rendent pas service dans la mesure où leur définition peut être juste équivoque sur la construction et prennent des exemples qui peuvent être ambigus», explique ce dernier au Figaro. Dans le Petit Robert, le verbe «enjoindre» - présenté comme synonyme des verbes «imposer», «intimer», «prescrire» ou encore «sommer» - est indiqué comme un verbe transitif, c’est-à-dire accompagné d’un complément d’objet : «L’Église enjoint l’abstinence pendant le Carême.» Mais, comme le rappelle Bruno Dewaele, «le sens d’un mot n’a rien à voir avec la façon dont il se construit». Car si «enjoindre» est synonyme de «sommer», il ne se construit pas comme ce dernier ! «Il y a une distorsion entre la sémantique et la signification, comme le verbe pallier qui est défini dans les dictionnaires par l'expression “remédier à” mais qui ne se construit pas comme tel car on ne pallie pas à quelque chose mais on pallie quelque chose», explique Bruno Dewaele. Et d'ajouter : «Évidemment avec cette confusion, l'usager est tenté de construire le verbe de la même manière.» À lire aussiSaurez-vous parfaitement orthographier ces dix mots ? Mais on ne sait s’il s’agit d’un verbe transitif direct («il enjoint quelqu’un») ou indirect (avec un complément d’objet indirect, «il enjoint à quelqu’un»). Le Petit Robert indique simplement qu’on «enjoint (quelque chose) à quelqu’un» et non l’inverse. Il propose des exemples peu clairs tels que «ce que l’honneur lui enjoint de faire» ou «il m’envoie au tableau noir et m’enjoint de tracer un cercle». Les pronoms sont en effet de la première et deuxième personne, cela ne nous dit pas s’ils sont COD ou COI. Comment s’y retrouver ? L’Académie française est formelle : «Enjoindre est un verbe transitif indirect et doit être construit comme tel». Ainsi, on ne dit pas «je l’ai enjoint de venir» mais «je lui ai enjoint de venir». De même, il est incorrect de dire «ils enjoignent Pierre de les aider», mais il serait plus exact d’écrire «ils enjoignent à Pierre de les aider». «Quand le complément d’un verbe transitif indirect est un nom, il est généralement introduit par la préposition à, mais si on substitue un pronom à ce nom, la préposition disparaît», expliquent les Sages dans leur rubrique Dire, ne pas dire. Pour mieux s’y retrouver, il faudrait penser aux verbes «ordonner (à)» ou «imposer (à)» - et non à «sommer (de)» ou «intimer (de)» - pour avoir la bonne construction grammaticale pour le verbe «enjoindre». #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.lefigaro.fr/langue-francaise/elle-enjoint-son-amie-de-venir-attention-a-la-faute-grammaticale-20240910
Où l’on reparle d’insécurité linguistique Diffusion du 10 septembre 2024 Du lundi au vendredi à 6h57, 14h56 et 18h57. Le samedi de 10h à 11h. De Olivier Glain France Bleu Saint-Étienne Loire De Mardi 10 septembre 2024 à 6:57 - Mis à jour le mardi 10 septembre 2024 à 14:56 Par Insécurité linguistique : quand on stigmatise les langues régionales. Stéphanois, gaga, vos mots sont précieux ! Insécurité linguistique : le gaga parfois stigmatisé. L’insécurité linguistique liée aux patois et accents régionaux, comme le stéphanois, est encore bien présente. Les locuteurs se sentent parfois dévalorisés face à un français dit "standard" perçu comme plus prestigieux, souvent renforcé par des jugements entendus dès l’école. Pourtant, il n’y a pas un seul français, mais des variations tout aussi légitimes. L’insécurité linguistique : une conséquence des jugements scolaires Les patois régionaux, comme le gaga, sont souvent relégués au rang de "mauvais français", un jugement renforcé dès l’enfance, notamment à l’école. Beaucoup de Stéphanois ont ainsi entendu que leurs mots, comme « gandous » pour « éboueurs » ou « être en caisse » pour « être en arrêt maladie », n’étaient pas considérés comme du "vrai français". Cette idéologie de la langue unique stigmatise ces expressions locales et place leurs locuteurs en position d’insécurité linguistique, où ils se sentent obligés de changer leur façon de parler pour se conformer à une norme perçue comme plus prestigieuse. Stéphanois et fiers de l’être : la diversité linguistique existe Malgré ces jugements, la réalité est tout autre. Le français n’est pas une langue uniforme, mais un ensemble de variétés régionales qui reflètent la richesse de notre culture. Le français régional stéphanois, avec son accent et ses expressions, est une forme légitime du français, au même titre que toute autre. En revendiquant leur façon de parler, les locuteurs de français régional défendent une langue vivante et riche, loin des préjugés. Les locuteurs de français régional, comme le stéphanois, souffrent encore d’insécurité linguistique, une conséquence de jugements tenaces. Mais ce français-là est tout aussi légitime. Olivier Glain #metaglossia_mundus: https://www.francebleu.fr/emissions/completement-gaga-des-parlers-d-ici/ou-l-on-reparle-d-insecurite-linguistique-7160750
Publié le 10 Septembre 2024 par Marc Escola (Source : Rezzik Mohamed)
Le numéro 01 du volume 08 de la revue Langues, discours et inter cultures vient de paraitre sous le titre La Bande dessinée et la littérature. Quelles limites et quelles représentations ? Le dossier thématique a été coordonné par Dr REZZIK Mohamed de l'Université d'Alger 2. Les auteurs qui y ont contribué ont tenté de répondre à la problématique initiale qui consiste à savoir dans quelle mesure peut-on considérer la bande dessinée comme une expression littéraire. Sommaire Nouvelles voix de la BD algérienne Vicente Esmeralda , Date de réception: 02-08-2024 Date de publication: 31-08-2024 pages 9-25. De la nouvelle à la bande dessinée, La Légende de Saint Julien L'hospitalier de Luc Duthil d’après Flaubert : une étude sur la nature, ses espaces et ses jardins Seddaoui Fatima , Date de réception: 23-09-2023 Date de publication: 31-08-2024 pages 26-43. Combler les fossés : Maus, un outil littéraire et pédagogique pour comprendre l'Holocauste Fernandes Ana , Date de réception: 26-07-2024 Date de publication: 31-08-2024 pages 44-72. Pour une adaptation en bande dessinée, Colomba de Mérimée (Enjeux et limites de l’écriture graphique ) Seddaoui Fatima , Date de réception: 11-09-2023 Date de publication: 31-08-2024 pages 73-89. La manipulation par l'image : démarche de traitement de l’information véhiculée par l’image Mzoughi Hajer , Date de réception: 10-10-2023 Date de publication: 31-08-2024 pages 91-107. Acta fabula Autres ouvrages en attente de rédacteur parutions récentes - XVIIe siècle 2024, n° 304 : "Amelot de La Houssaye, un médiateur au Grand Siècle"
- Nouvelle revue d'esthétique, n°32 : "Bernard Teyssèdre"
- Europe, n° 1141 : "Alfred de Musset" (mai 2024)
- Revue de Littérature Comparée, 2024 n°1 varia et n°2 : "Littératures extra-européennes et littérature comparée. Une réflexion critique" (coord. Elise Duclos & Claudine Le Blanc)
- The Balzac Review / Revue Balzac 2024, n° 7 : "L’analogie/Analogy"
- Rubriques, n° 1 : "Figures et Images. De la figura antique aux théories contemporaines ?" (Benoît Tane, dir.)
- Ligature. Revue critique du livre d'artiste, n° 28 : ""Livre d'artiste & septième art"
- Bulletin de la Société Paul Claudel 2024-2, n° 243 : "L’Apocalypse hier et demain"
- Mélusine numérique, hors-série : "Almanach du siècle surréaliste" (H. Béhar, dir.)
- Revue française d'histoire du livre, n° 145 (2024)
#metaglossia_mundus: https://www.fabula.org/actualites/122429/langues-discours-et-inter-cultures.html
One month after a judge declared Google's search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant faces another antitrust lawsuit that could break up the company. MATTHEW BARAKAT | The Associated Press Mon, September 9th 2024 at 2:24 PM Updated Tue, September 10th 2024 at 10:46 PM ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — One month after a judge declared Google's search engine an illegal mono Google slapped with new antitrust suit, could dismantle company (TND) The regulators contend that Google built, acquired and maintains a monopoly over the technology that matches online publishers to advertisers. Dominance over the software on both the buy side and the sell side of the transaction enables Google to keep as much as 36 cents on the dollar when it brokers sales between publishers and advertisers, the government contends in court papers. They allege that Google also controls the ad exchange market, which matches the buy side to the sell side. “One monopoly is bad enough. But a trifecta of monopolies is what we have here,” Justice Department lawyer Julia Tarver Wood said during her opening statement. Google says the government's case is based on an internet of yesteryear, when desktop computers ruled and internet users carefully typed precise World Wide Web addresses into URL fields. Advertisers now are more likely to turn to social media companies like TikTok or streaming TV services like Peacock to reach audiences. In her opening statement, Google lawyer Karen Dunn likened the government's case to a "time capsule with with a Blackberry, an iPod and a Blockbuster video card.” Dunn said Supreme Court precedents warn judges about “the serious risk of error or unintended consequences” when dealing with rapidly emerging technology and considering whether antitrust law requires intervention. She also warned that any action taken against Google won't benefit small businesses but will simply allow other tech behemoths like Amazon, Microsoft and TikTok to fill the void. According to Google's annual reports, revenue has actually declined in recent years for Google Networks, the division of the Mountain View, California-based tech giant that includes such services as AdSense and Google Ad Manager that are at the heart of the case, from $31.7 billion in 2021 to $31.3 billion in 2023. FILE - The Google app icon is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) The trial that began Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, over the alleged ad tech monopoly was initially going to be a jury trial, but Google maneuvered to force a bench trial, writing a check to the federal government for more than $2 million to moot the only claim brought by the government that required a jury. The case will now be decided by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who was appointed to the bench by former President Bill Clinton and is best known for high-profile terrorism trials including that of Sept. 11 defendant Zacarias Moussaoui. Brinkema, though, also has experience with highly technical civil trials, working in a courthouse that sees an outsize number of patent infringement cases. The Virginia case comes on the heels of a major defeat for Google over its search engine, which generates the majority of the company's $307 billion in annual revenue. A judge in the District of Columbia declared the search engine a monopoly, maintained in part by tens of billions of dollars Google pays each year to companies like Apple to lock in Google as the default search engine presented to consumers when they buy iPhones and other gadgets. And in December, a judge declared Google's Android app store a monopoly in a case brought by a private gaming company. In the search engine case, the judge has not yet imposed any remedies. The government hasn't offered its proposed sanctions, though there could be close scrutiny over whether Google should be allowed to continue to make exclusivity deals that ensure its search engine is consumers' default option. Peter Cohan, a professor of management practice at Babson College, said the Virginia case could potentially be more harmful to Google because the obvious remedy would be requiring it to sell off parts of its ad tech business that generate billions of dollars in annual revenue. “Divestitures are definitely a possible remedy for this second case,” Cohan said “It could be potentially more significant than initially meets the eye.” In the Virginia trial, the government's witnesses are expected to include executives from newspaper publishers including The New York Times Co. and online news sites that the government contends have faced particular harm from Google's practices. “Google extracted extraordinary fees at the expense of the website publishers who make the open internet vibrant and valuable,” government lawyers wrote in court papers. “As publishers generate less money from selling their advertising inventory, publishers are pushed to put more ads on their websites, to put more content behind costly paywalls, or to cease business altogether.” The government's first witness was Tim Wolfe, an executive with Gannett Co., a newspaper chain that publishes USA Today as its flagship. Wolfe said Gannett feels like it has no choice but to continue to use Google's ad tech products, even thought the company keeps 20 cents on the dollar from every ad purchase, not even accounting for what it takes from the advertisers. He said Gannett simply can't give up access to the huge stable of advertisers that Google brings to the ad exchange. On cross-examination, Wolfe acknowledged that despite Google's supposed monopoly, Gannett was able to work other competitors to sell its available inventory to advertisers. The government's case also attempts to use the words of Google's own employees against them. In openings, Justice Department lawyers cited an email sent by a Google employee wondering whether Google's control of the technology on all three sides presented “a deeper issue” to consider. “The analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange),” wrote the employee Jonathan Bellack. Google disputes that it charges excessive fees compared to its competitors. The company also asserts the integration of its technology on the buy side, sell side and in the middle assures ads and web pages load quickly and enhance security. And it says customers have options to work with outside ad exchanges. Google says the government's case is improperly focused on display ads and banner ads that load on web pages accessed through a desktop computer and fails to take into account consumers' migration to mobile apps and the boom in ads placed on social media sites over the last 15 years. The government's case “focuses on a limited type of advertising viewed on a narrow subset of websites when user attention migrated elsewhere years ago,” Google's lawyers wrote in a pretrial filing. “The last year users spent more time accessing websites on the ‘open web,’ rather than on social media, videos, or apps, was 2012.” #metaglossia_mundus
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